There is always activity in powerlifting all over the world, enabling athletes to accomplish some incredible feats. So, Jonathan Garcia utilized the 2023 NAPF 20th Annual North American Championships, which took place in the Cayman Islands, to display one of the greatest squats ever. He managed to build up his squat to a weight of 275.5 kilograms (607.4 pounds), which marked a brand new IPF Raw World Record for his 66-kilogram weight class.
Jonathan Garcia crushed his first two attempts before setting his sights on 275.5 kilograms (607.4 pounds) for his third and final one. After the record breaking weight was loaded on the bar for Jonathan, he walked out and sought encouragement from the audience, asking “Do you want to see it?”. With the crowd cheering him on, Jonathan managed to lock out the 275.5-kilogram (697.4-pound) squat and walk away with a new World Record.
With this amazing lift, Jonathan Garcia managed to further improve his own U66KG IPF Raw Squat World Record. He set the previous record by lifting 271 kilograms (597.5 pounds) at the 2022 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships
Watch the lift here:
Jonathan Garcia’s Full Performance
Jonathan Garcia was successful in eight attempts at the 2023 NAPF 20th Annual North American Championships, having only missed his final bench press attempt. However, he was the standout athlete in the 66-kilogram weight class, as he put up the heaviest lifts in all events. This secured him a convincing gold medal overall.
Jonathan Garcia also set new Squat and Total competition PRs, while equaling his Deadlift PR as well. Moreover, if he managed to lock out his third bench press, that would be the most he has lifted in competition as well.
Squat
- 255 kilograms (562 pounds)
- 268 kilograms (591 pounds)
- 275.5 kilograms (607 pounds) — U66KG IPF World Record
Bench Press
- 160 kilograms (353 pounds)
- 170 kilograms (375 pounds)
- Unsuccessful — 178 kilograms (392 pounds)
Deadlift
- 235 kilograms (518 pounds)
- 247.5 kilograms (546 pounds)
- 257.5 kilograms (568 pounds)
Total — 703 kilograms (1,549 pounds)
Watch all the lifts here:
Jonathan Garcia’s Competition History
Jonathan Garcia has been competing professionally in powerlifting since 2015 and has accumulated 19 sanctioned appearances, while his wins account for 12 of them. However, his breakthrough came last year, when Jonathan secured a spot at the 2022 IPF World Championships and claimed a silver medal later on. However, he did not qualify for the IPF World Championships this year, since Brian Le took his spot by beating him at the 2023 AMP Nationals.
However, Jonathan Garcia’s new World Record and victory show that he is now more motivated than ever to find his way back to the IPF Worlds next year. He still has a lot of time to prepare, since he will need to win the Nationals next year to qualify for the 2023 IPF Worlds. His improvement is already evident, so hopefully he manages to add a few more pounds to his total until the time comes to compete.
